Karen Kwok

Computer chip equipment maker ASML on Nov. 14 said the company's sales growth would average 8% to 14% over the coming five years.

Amcor’s $8.4 billion purchase of U.S. rival Berry Global may test the limits of packaging M&A. The all-share deal revealed on Tuesday involves a paper-thin premium, low valuation and plenty of cost savings. But the Swiss-based acquirer’s investors have showed little enthusiasm for the deal, with its shares declining 3% on the day. The target’s debt and sluggish business may explain why.

“It may sound strange, but I think I was born to realise ASI,” SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son told shareholders in June, referring to his acronym for artificial super intelligence – a future computing technology that he believes will be 10,000 times smarter than humans. It’s not a new theme for the 67-year-old. Son has repeatedly mentioned artificial intelligence in earnings calls going back at least far as 2010, according to a Breakingviews search of an LSEG database. It’s arguably surprising, then, that SoftBank sold its Nvidia shares too early and now seems late to the party with OpenAI. The risk is that Son overcorrects to make up for lost time.

Mike Henry will take another crack at buying Anglo American – with a partner. The BHP boss’s previous attempt to buy his smaller rival to become the world’s top copper miner failed in May due in part to his proposal’s complex structure and in part to his unwillingness to pay a big premium. The six-month cooling-off period imposed by UK takeover rules expired at the end of November. But recent developments make another solo attempt even harder to pull off, increasing the appeal of shouldering the burden with rivals.

The Japanese company could offload private holdings which it values at $56.7 billion, but these are harder to sell quickly.

Mark Zuckerberg is, among other things, resetting his relations with Europe. Towards the end of Tuesday’s five-minute video relaxing content moderation rules, the Meta Platforms chief executive criticised European technology regulations and pledged to work with President-elect Donald Trump to “push back on governments going after American companies and pushing to censor more”. That sounds bad for the EU’s agenda to moderate content on social media – but Meta doesn’t hold all the cards.

Daniel Ek is cranking up the volume at Spotify Technology . Two years ago, the U.S.-listed music streamer faced heat from activist investor ValueAct Capital Management and was mired in job cuts and losses. Since then, Spotify’s market value has quadrupled to $92 billion, and generative artificial intelligence could give it a further leg up. Yet AI also explains why the group is at a crossroads.

It’s only fitting that TikTok’s fate turn into a wild dance. As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs up the constitutionality of a proposed ban on the popular video app, Beijing has pirouetted into the possibility of letting ByteDance sell it to Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla and owner of social media site X. With so many stakeholders, however, it will take more than just two to tango.

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Daniel Ek is cranking up the volume at Spotify Technology.

LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gary Nagle is facing a tricky situation. The Glencore CEO has a mix of copper mines, which everyone wants, and a